The distinction between Nominal and Verbal Gerunds and their syntactic functions as subject, object, and complement: A Field Study of University Students

Abstract

This study investigates the differences between nominal gerunds and verbal gerunds in English and analyzes their various syntactic functions within sentence structures. Gerunds are non-finite verb forms ending in -ing that function syntactically as nouns while retaining certain verbal properties. Due to this hybrid nature, gerunds represent an important and complex grammatical category in English linguistic studies.

The study adopts a descriptive analytical approach to examine the grammatical characteristics of gerunds and their distribution in different syntactic positions such as subject, object, complement, and object of a preposition. In addition, a field study was conducted through a questionnaire distributed to 50 undergraduate students 2024-2025. The participants were students from the English Department at the university of Tripoli and Sirte University, selected to investigate learners’ understanding of gerund constructions and their ability to distinguish between nominal and verbal gerunds.

The results of the study indicate that gerunds demonstrate significant syntactic flexibility in English sentence structures. The findings also reveal that although students generally recognize gerunds and their basic functions, many still experience difficulty distinguishing between nominal and verbal gerunds due to the overlap between verbal and nominal features.

The study concludes that understanding the structural differences between gerund types contributes to a clearer analysis of English sentence structure and provides valuable insights for both linguistic research and English language teaching.